EDSA People Power Revolution (1986)
Tue Feb 25, 1986
Image: A mammoth protest rally against Marcos. The most prominent banner reads "JUSTICE FOR NINOY! JUSTICE FOR ALL VICTIMS OF POLITICAL REPRESSION & TERRORISM!!" [tatlerasia.com]
On this day in 1986, U.S.-backed Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos fled the country after days of millions protesting in the streets following rigged elections. The uprising is known as the EDSA, People Power, or Yellow Revolution.
Ferdinand Marcos had initially assumed power through a popular election in 1965. However, in 1972 he declared martial law during his second term, citing the threat posed by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and other rebel groups, effectively gaining dictatorial powers.
Marcos and his allies embezzled billions of dollars in state assets while the government persecuted and killed dissidents throughout the 1970s and early 80s, enjoying support from the U.S. In 1981, then Vice President George Bush commended Marcos for his "adherence to democratic principles".
In 1983, exiled opposition leader Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino attempted to returned to the country, but was assassinated after landing at Manila International Airport. The shock of this event, alongside an economic crisis, compounded public anger, and civil resistance grew significantly in the following years.
In response to this pressure, Marcos announced that a snap presidential election would take place in February 1986. Ninoy Aquino's widow Corazon served as the main opposition candidate.
Official results from the election saw a victory for Marcos, but the vote saw widespread instances of fraud and intimidation, resulting in a walkout of workers at the national election monitor and a condemnation from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines.
Both candidates claimed victory, and Aquino called for civil disobedience and boycott of media and companies which supported Marcos. The "Reform the Armed Forces Movement", a group of dissenting military officers, plotted a coup, but were arrested by authorities.
On February 22nd, the Archbishop of Manila urged civilians via the Catholic radio station Radio Veritas to gather on a stretch of the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, (commonly known as "EDSA") in order to help to supply and support rebel officers.
Over the next few days, crowds ballooned, with approximately 2 million participating in total. Marcos ultimately backed down from using lethal force to disperse the crowds, and, faced with growing military defections, fled the country on February 25th, 1986. Corazon Aquino was inaugurated President the same day.
Although Marcos' dictatorship was brought to an end and the Philippines has maintained liberal rule as the Fifth Philippine Republic, extrajudicial killings and rampant corruption continued through Aquino's rule and beyond. Less than a year later, 12 people were killed by state forces in the Mendiola Massacre, when police fired on a farmers' march in Manila.
Researcher Mark John Sanchez writes: "In the years since 1986, the legacy of the People Power Revolution has remained uncertain...The agricultural and economic reform that many Filipinos hoped for in a post-Marcos world did not come. Peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines dissolved and leftists continued to be maligned, attacked, and hunted."
- Date: 1986-02-25
- Learn More: www.tatlerasia.com, en.wikipedia.org, origins.osu.edu.
- Tags: #Assassinations, #Protests.
- Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org